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El Espectador learned of the complaint of a woman who reports having been a victim of sexual abuse by the former paramilitary chief in January 2008, four months before he was extradited to the United States and two years after having demobilized and committed not to commit another crime . The Prosecutor’s Office has known about the issue since 2018, although there is no progress yet to show.
Hernán Giraldo, the feared former paramilitary chief who has just returned to Colombia after serving a 12-year prison sentence for drug trafficking in the United States, is now being held in the Itagüí prison, awaiting justice for the crimes. which he committed as head of the self-styled Resistance Tayrona bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Auc). The Justice and Peace Chamber of the Superior Court of Barranquilla has said that although there is no proof that the former chief “stopped” having continued to commit crimes after demobilizing in 2006, he has not demonstrated “good conduct” and willingness to participate in “educational and training programs. resocialization.
Also read: The fear in the Magdalena for the return of former paramilitary chief Hernán Giraldo.
Nevertheless, The viewer knew that alias the Pattern of the Sierra Yes, he would have continued to commit crimes after surrendering his weapons and while he was in prison. This newspaper had access to the complaint that a woman made to the Attorney General’s Office in 2018, in which she recounted how she was raped by Giraldo in January 2008, four months before he was extradited to the United States, along with 13 other paramilitary leaders, by the government of Álvaro Uribe. In his version of events before the Prosecutor’s Office, he mentions another woman who served, he said, as a recruiter of minors from Giraldo and who has already been pointed out by other minors who were also attacked by the confessed rapist.
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Although Giraldo has already been sentenced in Justice and Peace – the jurisdiction that processes the crimes of the paramilitaries during the conflict – to eight years in prison for the dozens of violations he perpetrated, this case could take away the judicial benefits that this transitional justice gave him, It is a crime that he would have committed after committing himself not to commit a crime again. Other paramilitary leaders who were found to have remained outside the law were expelled from Justicia y Paz, such as Don Mario, Macaco and the Tiger, the latter linked to the kidnapping of Gabriel García Márquez’s granddaughter in 2017.
The process is active and in the preliminary investigation phase. At the end of this edition, the Prosecutor’s Office did not provide details of how the case is going after more than two years after the violation was reported. In an interview with this newspaper, the woman, who was 15 years old at the time she was raped today, points out that as a result of this sexual attack she tried to take her own life. The viewer changed the name of the victim and other people who are part of his testimony to protect their lives. Some locations were also skipped for the same purpose. This is his story:
“My name is Ana Milena. By the time the events occurred, they were early January 2008. Before what happened to me, I was a 15-year-old girl with many dreams. He had planned to travel to Bogotá and study a professional career. I separated from my family at that time because I had been offered a job in the capital as a babysitter, so I traveled from a small town to a city and then transported by land to Bogotá. However, the job offer fell and I decided to stay in that city to search for it. At that time I met a lady who offered to stay and who was going to help me with my studies, but who could also help her with the trades around the house.
That is how I began to work with this woman, who in turn worked for Giraldo. I don’t know what she did, but a lot of money moved there, she traveled all the time. I never got into these subjects and I dedicated myself to studying and helping around the house. However, there was another girl who did take Giraldo to jail. One day I answered a call at home and it was him; He started asking me about myself, how old I was, what I was like physically. From jail he called. After this the lady began to tell me that Giraldo sent me greetings and I remember that I told him that I was not interested in his greetings or anything related to him.
A few days later, when she kept insisting and I told her again that I was not interested, the lady said to me ‘you can’t do anything anyway, if I tell you we’re going it’s because we’re going. Besides, they are watching us out there and something could happen. ‘ She was referring to Giraldo’s men, there were always some guys outside in a truck. I was very scared because I thought that if I didn’t accept they would kill me. At that time she was not a girl to make decisions, she was very vulnerable. Nor did I say anything to my parents for the same reason, I was afraid that something would happen to them. I was very afraid. In addition, at that time it was said about Giraldo that the parents sold their daughters to him or gave them to him.
One Sunday she says to me: ‘Maria is not going to go today, it’s your turn.’ I remember that he went to the Registrar’s Office and did some papers. When I got to the jail, he handed me a wad of money that he had camouflaged in a sanitary napkin and which I later gave to Giraldo. Upon admission, all I hear is that the lady says “Justice and Peace”, but I don’t remember what jail it was. Basically it was like it was a conjugal visit. When I got to her cell, the lady disappeared; This one was different from the others, it had all the comforts, a refrigerator, a television, a good bed and a comfortable bathroom. He had many privileges. The money that I was forced to enter was used to pay for things inside.
He closed the door and did not speak to her because he was very afraid, he had never had him face to face and had not exchanged words with Giraldo except for that time he called the lady’s house. I remember that he began to remove my clothes and that I did not stop crying while he abused me. When he finished, I got up from the bed and saw a lot of blood on the bed; I immediately grabbed my clothes and locked myself in the shower. I cried and cried for a long time; about an hour. He didn’t say anything to me at the time or when I came out of the bathroom. He only opened the door and the lady appeared, who didn’t say anything to me, nor did I speak to her all the way back.
This I told my family many years later, in 2018, when I went to file a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office. Only my aunt and my mom know about this. The process of encouraging me to tell this was very difficult. I tried to take my life several times because I couldn’t handle it, but when time passed I started going to a church where I met Jesus and his great love. That was what really saved me and gave value to my life, because before it had no meaning, I felt dirty and worthless. I also file a complaint after realizing that many girls were encouraged to report it and I asked myself: ‘Why wouldn’t I do it?’ I wanted to forget about everything at some point, but I couldn’t.
I also had to get rid of the fear because after the events I continued living with the recruiter as her employee. I went to jail twice and on the third day that it was my turn they called the woman and told her that they had extradited him. It was going to be my third time. She was very scared, almost went crazy and had to hide. During that time, people began to appear looking for her to kill her, because she was in charge of paying for some things. Once a guy came and grabbed me and yelled at me that where the money was and well, I had no idea. One of the duros, who was close to the lady and handled money, was killed that same year. I also saw that there were people who were chasing me ”.
